The Deer Hunter and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Intro
The Deer Hunter directed by Michael Cimino explores the relationship between three friends and their community as it is transformed by their experiences in the Vietnam War. This film deals with the horror of war and its effects on the psyche, which manifest in the anxiety disorder Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post traumatic stress disorder is a collection of symptoms brought about by exposure to an event of significant psychological trauma. A common cause, and the one examined in the film, is fighting in a horrific modern war. The events responsible for triggering this disorder are often relived by victims in nightmares and flashbacks, often caused by exposure to stimuli associated with the events. Conversely, victims can block out these memories and the accompanying emotions, becoming emotionally numb. These symptoms and others contribute to what is ultimately an inhibited ability to reintegrate into society. This is demonstrated in the film when Michael, a man returning to his steel working hometown after serving in Vietnam, finds himself unable to hunt deer with his friends like he used to, when he once was the superlative huntsman. He also finds their naive jokes to be irritating and no longer funny, as evidenced when he snatches a gun his friends had been playing with and forces on into a game of russian roulette.
Treatment
The most common modern methods of treatment are a multitude of different forms of cognitive therapy. One shown to be very effective is exposure therapy, which, depending on the nature of the individuals trauma, involves helping the victim to confront the trauma by exposing him or her to stimuli that are reminders of the event. Another treatment that has had recent clinical success is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, a process by which victims are made to recount the traumatic events responsible for their condition whilst moving their eye back and forth in a constant rhythm. Some debate exists as to whether the eye movements are unrelated in the success rate for this treatment, however. One of the worst parts of the Vietnam War as highlighted in the film, was the lack of treatment or understanding of post traumatic stress disorder for veterans. Michael receives no treatment and must struggle with his emotional turmoil almost entirely alone, finding very few who sympathize with his condition. Only his former comrade Steven and the fiance of his friend Nick seem to understand. Nick took to self medication sex and drugs payed for by gambling on Russian Roulette matches that he himself was participating in. This turned into a prolonged hedonistic suicide attempt that eventually found success at the end of the film. Steven, who lost three limbs to the war, becomes embarrassed to face his lethargic wife in his wheelchair, and is only convinced to do so once persuaded by Michael. Michael himself finds refuge in a relationship with Nick's fiance. While Nick ends up dead, Steven and Michael appear to be on the way to recovery by the end of the film.
Lessons Learned
The film performs an admirable job of demonstrating the destructive power war has on the communities of returning veterans. The worlds they return to are somehow newly foreign to them, and they can be filled with a mixture of longing for simplicity and contempt for ignorance, which only serves to exasperate existing problems. The future of post traumatic stress disorder treatment looks relatively bright, as it is now a more widely recognized and understood condition, making seeking early treatment much easier. I chose this film because I had heard from my uncle that it is a quintessential American film, and I tend to agree; the film succeeds not only at compiling a rich cast of characters with which to explore the psychological effects of war, but also in making a statement on the condition of America and modern war in general.
Use of class time 5/5 Reason for grade: Time spent in class researching disorder resulted in an understanding capable of writing a good report.
Depth of work done 15/15 Reason for grade: Work not only reflects investigation into the disorder but also touches on examples of it and the overall meaning of the film.
What I learned 5/5 Reason for grade: Watching this film has provided a useful visualization of the effects of traumatic events on veterans, making their plight more empathetic.
Wikispace's attractiveness 5/5 Reason for grade: Purty picture and trailer. All other film clips had embedding disabled by request.
Total 30/30
The Deer Hunter and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Intro
The Deer Hunter directed by Michael Cimino explores the relationship between three friends and their community as it is transformed by their experiences in the Vietnam War. This film deals with the horror of war and its effects on the psyche, which manifest in the anxiety disorder Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post traumatic stress disorder is a collection of symptoms brought about by exposure to an event of significant psychological trauma. A common cause, and the one examined in the film, is fighting in a horrific modern war. The events responsible for triggering this disorder are often relived by victims in nightmares and flashbacks, often caused by exposure to stimuli associated with the events. Conversely, victims can block out these memories and the accompanying emotions, becoming emotionally numb. These symptoms and others contribute to what is ultimately an inhibited ability to reintegrate into society. This is demonstrated in the film when Michael, a man returning to his steel working hometown after serving in Vietnam, finds himself unable to hunt deer with his friends like he used to, when he once was the superlative huntsman. He also finds their naive jokes to be irritating and no longer funny, as evidenced when he snatches a gun his friends had been playing with and forces on into a game of russian roulette.Treatment
The most common modern methods of treatment are a multitude of different forms of cognitive therapy. One shown to be very effective is exposure therapy, which, depending on the nature of the individuals trauma, involves helping the victim to confront the trauma by exposing him or her to stimuli that are reminders of the event. Another treatment that has had recent clinical success is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, a process by which victims are made to recount the traumatic events responsible for their condition whilst moving their eye back and forth in a constant rhythm. Some debate exists as to whether the eye movements are unrelated in the success rate for this treatment, however. One of the worst parts of the Vietnam War as highlighted in the film, was the lack of treatment or understanding of post traumatic stress disorder for veterans. Michael receives no treatment and must struggle with his emotional turmoil almost entirely alone, finding very few who sympathize with his condition. Only his former comrade Steven and the fiance of his friend Nick seem to understand. Nick took to self medication sex and drugs payed for by gambling on Russian Roulette matches that he himself was participating in. This turned into a prolonged hedonistic suicide attempt that eventually found success at the end of the film. Steven, who lost three limbs to the war, becomes embarrassed to face his lethargic wife in his wheelchair, and is only convinced to do so once persuaded by Michael. Michael himself finds refuge in a relationship with Nick's fiance. While Nick ends up dead, Steven and Michael appear to be on the way to recovery by the end of the film.Lessons Learned
The film performs an admirable job of demonstrating the destructive power war has on the communities of returning veterans. The worlds they return to are somehow newly foreign to them, and they can be filled with a mixture of longing for simplicity and contempt for ignorance, which only serves to exasperate existing problems. The future of post traumatic stress disorder treatment looks relatively bright, as it is now a more widely recognized and understood condition, making seeking early treatment much easier. I chose this film because I had heard from my uncle that it is a quintessential American film, and I tend to agree; the film succeeds not only at compiling a rich cast of characters with which to explore the psychological effects of war, but also in making a statement on the condition of America and modern war in general.Use of class time 5/5 Reason for grade: Time spent in class researching disorder resulted in an understanding capable of writing a good report.
Depth of work done 15/15 Reason for grade: Work not only reflects investigation into the disorder but also touches on examples of it and the overall meaning of the film.
What I learned 5/5 Reason for grade: Watching this film has provided a useful visualization of the effects of traumatic events on veterans, making their plight more empathetic.
Wikispace's attractiveness 5/5 Reason for grade: Purty picture and trailer. All other film clips had embedding disabled by request.
Total 30/30